


Mellow

by AvaCelt



Series: Gintama Prompt Fills [19]
Category: Gintama
Genre: Cross-Posted on Tumblr, M/M, Originally Posted on Tumblr, Prompt Fill, Tumblr Prompt
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-04
Updated: 2016-04-04
Packaged: 2018-05-31 03:56:33
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 444
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6454726
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AvaCelt/pseuds/AvaCelt
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Gintoki takes care of Tatsuma when he's sick, and in the process, ends up thinking too hard.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Mellow

**Author's Note:**

> Written for "Character Whump Fic Meme." Originally posted on my [Tumblr writing blog](http://victorsandvanquishers.tumblr.com/) and now being archived here for the A03 writing community.

When Tatsuma caught a cold, he caught his death. For every other creatures, mellowing down in the face of illness was a common occurrence. With Sakamoto Tatsuma, it prompted Sakata Gintoki to call his entire family to his bedroom when his husband wouldn't budge from their shared bed, body flushed and eyes tightly shut.

“Sometimes the cold creeps into the lungs, ya know,” Madao told Gintoki the afternoon Tatsuma had to go in for chest x-rays. “Just make sure you keep him extra warm at night, and feed him spicy foods if he starts to complain about the pudding tasting bland.”

Gintoki made the arrangements. He beat the futon, fluffed the pillows, and set Tatsuma up in front of the balcony. The open doors let in the breeze and Tatsuma napped with little birds chirping near his fluffy mane of dark brown hair. During mealtimes, Tatsuma wheezed out a few bouts of laughter before falling tired and eating his food shakily before wiping his mouth and falling back asleep.

“Make sure he's comfortable, and don't make too much noise,” Otose grunted on the third day of Gintoki's vigil. Tatsuma slept with Sadaharu curled up by his side.

On the seventh day, the fever broke and Tatsuma starting snorting and wheezing, and Gintoki called the doctors again. It took four medical professionals and Kagura's knee to his face for him to understand that Tatsuma snorted and wheezed because his lungs were finally clearing up and that his laughter was pushing through layers of mucus and fluid to come out loud, strong, and healthy. That night, Gintoki gave Tatsuma a sponge bath, dressed him in warm clothes, and held him tightly in his arms as Tatsuma's wheezes became more and more infrequent throughout the night.

A week after that, Gintoki himself contracted the cold, and while he sat stewing in the hot bath, he bitched and moaned about all the cruelties of the world. Shinpachi lightly patted his wet hair and told him to shut up before they put Catherine on sponge bath duty while they whisked Tatsuma away to the noodle shop.

A month after that, Tatsuma slept deeply against Gintoki's chest and Gintoki wondered how he managed to last a day, much less a decade, without Tatsuma's sweet laughter ringing in his ears. He also wondered how Tatsuma spent his sick days over the past ten years they were apart. Did Tatsuma find a caretaker? Gintoki supposed not.

He kneaded Tatsuma's thick, brown curls while he pressed a long kiss to his forehead. Tatsuma made a satisfied noise before promptly returning to dreamland. Taking his cue, Gintoki spooned the taller man and drifted off.


End file.
